California CLE Requirements: 25 Hours, Deadlines, and Exemptions

To keep your California law license active, you must complete 25 hours of continuing legal education every three years, including set minimums in legal ethics, elimination of bias, competence, technology, and civility, and then self-report your compliance through your My State Bar Profile by the deadline assigned to your last-name group. These California CLE requirements are set by State Bar Rule 2.72, and missing them triggers a noncompliance fee and can push you onto administrative inactive status, which bars you from practicing law.¹

The 25 Hours and What Must Be in Them

Rule 2.72 sets the 25-hour total for each three-year compliance period. No more than 12.5 hours can come from self-study. The rest must be participatory, meaning live courses, webinars, or other interactive formats.²

At least 10 of your 25 hours have to fall in specific subcategories:

At least 4 hours of legal ethics
At least 2 hours on elimination of bias, with at least 1 of those hours on implicit bias and strategies to reduce it
At least 2 hours of competence, with at least 1 hour addressing prevention and detection of substance abuse or mental health issues
At least 1 hour on technology in the practice of law
At least 1 hour on civility in the legal profession

The remaining 15 hours can cover any legal topic, as long as the activity comes from a State Bar-approved provider.³ A single course can count toward more than one subcategory, so a legal ethics seminar that covers technology issues can satisfy hours in both.

Watch one trap: extra hours do not carry over. Complete 30 hours this cycle and the 5 above the minimum vanish when the new period begins.³

When Your Report Is Due

The State Bar sorts attorneys into three compliance groups by the first letter of their last name, each on its own three-year cycle:¹

Group 1 (last names A through G): compliance period ended March 29, 2025, with reporting due April 1, 2025. The next deadline is March 30, 2028.
Group 2 (last names H through M): compliance period ends March 29, 2027, with reporting due March 30, 2027.
Group 3 (last names N through Z): compliance period ends March 29, 2026, with reporting due March 30, 2026.

If you are in Group 3, your reporting window is close. The three-year rotation then continues from each group’s most recent deadline.

New Attorney Training Is Separate

If you were newly admitted, you have an extra obligation before your first regular cycle begins. The New Attorney Training program requires 10 hours of online coursework: 4 hours of legal ethics, 3 hours of basic skills, 1.5 hours on competence covering substance abuse and mental health, and 1.5 hours on elimination of bias.⁴

You have one year from the last day of your admission month to finish. An attorney admitted on June 15, 2026, for example, must complete the training by June 30, 2027. The bundle costs $55 as of mid-2025. This is on top of your regular 25-hour MCLE obligation, not a substitute for it.⁴

Who Can Skip MCLE

Rule 2.54 excuses a narrow set of active licensees from MCLE entirely, provided they formally claim the exemption through their My State Bar Profile during their compliance period:⁵

Officers and elected officials of the State of California
Full-time professors at law schools accredited by the American Bar Association or the State Bar of California
Full-time permanent or probationary employees of the State of California who do not otherwise practice law
Full-time permanent or probationary employees of the United States government who do not otherwise practice law

Attorneys on voluntary inactive status do not need to complete MCLE while inactive. If you were inactive for part of a compliance period and returned to active status, the 25-hour requirement can be reduced in proportion to the full months you were inactive, though the bias and competence subcategory minimums cannot drop below one hour each.³

Tracking and Reporting Your Hours

The State Bar does not keep a running tally of your hours. You track them yourself and certify compliance at the end of the cycle, and the Bar can audit you and request proof at any time.¹

After every course or seminar, get a Certificate of Attendance or Record of Attendance from the provider showing the provider’s name, the activity title, the date, and a breakdown of credit hours by subcategory.⁶ Only providers approved by the State Bar can issue credit for California MCLE.⁷ Keep your records for at least one year after you report compliance.⁸

When your deadline arrives, log into your My State Bar Profile, open the MCLE compliance section, and submit a statement confirming you have completed all required hours and subcategories.¹ You do not upload certificates at this stage. You self-certify, and the Bar relies on you to produce documentation if audited.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

A late report triggers a noncompliance fee from the State Bar. The larger risk is administrative inactive status, which makes you ineligible to practice law.⁹ With clients, active matters, and court deadlines, even a short gap in your eligibility to practice creates problems that compound. You cannot resume practice until you complete the outstanding MCLE requirements and pay the associated fees.

Attorneys who claim an exemption they do not qualify for face the same kind of exposure. The Rule 2.54 categories are narrow, so if your circumstances change mid-period, update your status with the Bar rather than assuming the exemption still applies.⁵

1
State Bar of California. MCLE Compliance
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State Bar of California. MCLE Requirements
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State Bar of California. Rules of the State Bar Title 2 Division 4 MCLE – Section: Rule 2.72
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State Bar of California. Your New Attorney Training Requirement
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State Bar of California. Rules of the State Bar Title 2 Division 4 MCLE – Section: Rule 2.54
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State Bar of California. MCLE Certificate of Attendance Participatory
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State Bar of California. MCLE Providers
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State Bar of California. Keeping Your MCLE Records
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State Bar of California. Inactive and Not Eligible to Practice